iPhone, iPad Air 2 not recognized via iTunes

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Level 1

12 points

iPhone, iPad Air 2 not recognized via iTunes

Quite frustrated at the moment. Since Apple Support is not contacting back despite requests, the story will go here. I have Windows 10, iPhone 6+ and iPad Air 2. Last weekend I was prompted to, and did upgrade to iTunes 12.5.1.21. Plugged in my iPhone 6+. Not recognized by iTunes; "sync" grayed out. Tried the same with my iPad Air 2. Same outcome. I'm receiving no error message. Here's my troubleshooting - what am I missing, Apple?

Checked Lightning plug, works fine with other peripherals.
Rebooted PC.
Rebooted iPhone.
Rebooted iPad Air 2.
Tried different sequences of startup (start iTunes manually; plug in first)
Went to "Upgrade Device via Device Manager" - devices for these are working correctly.
Upgraded my iPhone and iPad Air 2 to iOS 10 successfully.
Emailed Apple Support; 48 hours later they gave me a different email address to contact.
Chose the Contact Apple Support via phone option - "We'll Call You - your phone will ring at any moment" screen. Still waiting for phone to ring.
Checked out Discussions on Apple's site with troubleshooting tips, have tried all suggestions with no luck - If iTunes doesn't recognize your iPhone, iPad, or iPod - Apple Support.
I even opened and closed the blinds all the way throughout my house to see if that would help. Go figure.
The last remedy on them says "Contact Apple Support" - see #9 above. Twice.

Apple Support - what am I to do at this point? I'm all ears, and Android is looking better and better at my next upgrade opportunity.

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 10, null

Posted on Sep 20, 2016 8:52 AM

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Answer 1

pegpaw Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 20, 2016 9:33 AM in response to pegpaw

Happy to report that I finally found a post that fixed this. Someone needs to give community contributor turingtest2 an award, they had an amazing post in Communities that corrected my problem. See below for great suggestions.

iOS device not showing in iTunes for Windows

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Answer 2

Sep 21, 2016 5:37 AM in response to pegpaw

I don't know what version of Windows you are running but here goes :

Navigate to C:/Program Files/Common Files/Apple/Apple Mobile Device Support/Drivers/ then right click on usbappl64.ini and select install. If you dont have file extensions turned on right click on either usbappl64 file and look for the one that has an install option.

Please report back!

EDIT : Looks like that article helped. My shortcut works as well 😉

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Answer 3

Sep 20, 2016 10:48 AM in response to pegpaw

turingtest2's solution assumes that you have a "Apple Mobile USB device Driver" to update. When I look at my Device Manager, and the USB list, there is no USB driver for Apple Mobile (or under any of the other categories he suggested).

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Answer 4

Sep 20, 2016 10:54 AM in response to mckeen.apple.ios

When I go to "C:/Program Files/Common Files/Apple/Apple Mobile Device Support/" there is no subfolder for "Drivers" If I search for "usbappl64.ini" on my computer, it doesn't exist.

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Answer 5

tim_o

Level 1

8 points

Sep 20, 2016 12:51 PM in response to ACudzewicz

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers\usbaapl64.inf

this one helped me restoring the connections with my iPhone and ipad on windows 10

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Answer 6

Sep 20, 2016 2:08 PM in response to tim_o

Ok. I found usbaapl64.inf on my system and it has setup information, but it is not an executable file that I can click on to install a driver. How did that file help you restore your connections?

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Answer 7

Sep 20, 2016 2:12 PM in response to mckeen.apple.ios

You gave the file name as "usbappl64.ini" Did you mean "usbaapl64.ini", which has two "a"s and not two "p"s?

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Answer 8

tim_o

Level 1

8 points

Sep 21, 2016 1:08 AM in response to ACudzewicz

maybe this works made a zip from the files in the driver directory.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x56df9frxydazpl/Apple_Drivers.zip?dl=0

i think normaly it would install with the latest iTunes.

but u can try to put the files in the driver directory.

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers\

The usbaapl64.INF file on windows 10 u can right click and choose install.

or in older windows go to the computer properties search the iPhone or iPad driver then update by manualy looking for this .INF file.

more tricks i dont have but should cover a lot.

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Answer 9

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Sep 21, 2016 8:51 AM in response to ACudzewicz

ACudzewicz wrote:

turingtest2's solution assumes that you have a "Apple Mobile USB device Driver" to update. When I look at my Device Manager, and the USB list, there is no USB driver for Apple Mobile (or under any of the other categories he suggested).

Hi. Did you try disconnecting and reconnecting the device to see which section of device manager reacted to the connection?

tt2

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Answer 10

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Sep 21, 2016 8:57 AM in response to ACudzewicz

The driver configuration file is C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers\usbaapl64.inf - two "a"s and ends with a "f".

If you don't see the .inf file in either location see Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates and perform the full tear down and rebuild steps in the second box.

tt2

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Answer 11

Sep 21, 2016 5:23 PM in response to turingtest2

I finally found the usbaapl64.inf file. When I right clicked on that file and selected "Install", it ran successfully. In my Windows 10 Device Manager "Apple iPad" appeared under "Portable Devices". When I right clicked on that I selected Update Driver Software. In the dialogue box I selected "Search for Driver". Finally "Apple Mobile Device USB Driver" appeared under "Universal Serial Bus controllers" And iTunes finally recognized by iPad! I'm syncing my iPad now. Once it is done, I'll plug in my iPhone and hopefully after the above driver download, iTunes will also recognize my iPhone.

Thanks for you help!

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Answer 12

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Sep 21, 2016 11:29 PM in response to ACudzewicz

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2

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Answer 13

Sep 22, 2016 5:32 PM in response to turingtest2

After backing up my iPad, I had to repeat the process of updating the Apple Mobile Device USB driver for my iPhone. Evidently, they are different. But now I have a different problem. When I try to backup my music onto my iPhone and check "Sync Music" it says I have "0 Songs" on my computer. Where does the folder that contains music (mp3 files), need to reside so that iTunes recognizes it? The online help says it needs to be in " \Users\username\Music\iTunes" But iTunes can't find it there.

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Answer 14

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Sep 23, 2016 2:39 AM in response to ACudzewicz

See this migrate iTunes library post for suggestions on copying the library from your old computer to a new one. Putting media in the right place isn't enough, as iTunes doesn't automatically scan the media folder for changes. You either need to restore your previous library, or import your media into a new one.

tt2

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